[SEMI-OPEN] took a power trip

[chariotry]

WHO? Achilles, Ryuji, Siegfried, Chiron, Bucky, and perhaps others (there's an open prompt!)
WHAT? National Convention mission and the aftermath
WHEN? 1792 Paris
ANYTHING ELSE?

[OPEN] got me open all night

[ Guess who discovered that he can make a decent living playing music in the higher-class areas of Paris?

This is how he's going to get by: getting picked up by lonely, rich housewives whose husbands who have fled Paris on "business" and getting free reign of their estate while he's allowed to stay for a day or two.

Anyway, come sit around and listen to this fuckboy play the lyre. ]

Comments

[horsepowered]

[Chiron's a fan of being nice to horses.

Actually, that's why he's in the stables, checking on all residents. Beyond the fact that he has little else to do in the evenings (not sleeping really is a curse), Chiron's come to find Paris a much more interesting city in the day. The architecture is easier to observe, and there's seemingly no empty street devoid of people. For a revolution, people still have to get on with things.

So Chiron doesn't look up when he hears Achilles come in. He just keeps giving a particular horse a good mane brushing, as the horse's hair is presently matted and unwieldy.]

I doubt there's any grudge.

[chariotry]

[ Oh... Teacher! Achilles stops short in his stride, taken by surprise at the sight of his teacher tending to his horse.

It's perfect timing, actually. He was just the person he wanted to see after that entire ordeal. Now that they're no longer enemies, Chiron is a person that Achilles finds comfort in and around, and he wants to cling to that reassurance. His teacher had always stabilized him in moments where his emotions exceeded his rationale, like he was capable of watering down anything too intense for the young hero. ]

With you to pamper her in my absence, she shouldn't have any.

[ He approaches, plucking a single apple from a bag he carried inside. ]

[horsepowered]

If anything, I'm probably more austere compared to your indulgences. Not that that's a bad thing.

[If anything, Chiron considered it an excellent thing. He took a few steps back to allow Achilles to come through, as few horses didn't delight in apples and other excellent treats.]

I did get someone to muck out her stable. There's been a dip in employees here, and so certain essential things have fallen by the wayside.

[chariotry]

[ Oh yes, he's aware of that, Chiron. Which is why he smirks knowingly at the remark. ]

Like any woman, a happy horse makes for an easier life. [ Not that he needs one. But hey, he's taken to the company of the steed, even if she isn't as magnificent as an immortal gift from the Gods, or plunder from a city he laid siege to himself.

He'll hold an apple out to the horse, who takes it out of his hand with an eager snap of its jaws, and holds out another for his teacher. ]

I'm happy to find you out here.

[horsepowered]

[Chiron takes the offered apple, and for a moment, is tempted to take a bite of it himself. He doesn't, in the end, but he does wait for the first to be devoured.]

I had no idea you were looking for me. Is there any particular reason for this happiness?

My default...

[chariotry]

Happy? [ He murmurs to himself. ] I don't know how I feel.

Tonight, I helped a boy out with a mission to convince a man from casting his vote to execute the king. [ Fine, Chiron, he'll bite into an apple, sharing the rest with the horse. ]

He was a painter... And among those paintings, he depicted me.

Re: My default...

[horsepowered]

[Chiron listens to his former student intently, eyes entirely on him. The apple is an afterthought.]

I see. And what did you make of the work?

[The vagueness is on purpose. He means both the mission and the art.]

[chariotry]

... It was all wrong. Nothing he painted was like the way I remember those days.

[ But that's the point, isn't it? The events of the war had been left to the painter's imagination, and yet Achilles still finds it a bit offensive that it's not entirely accurate. ]

He painted Patroclus. And Hector.

[ Lifting his satchel, he produces that tube holding the rolled up piece of artwork, popping the lid open and sliding the painting out. ]

See for yourself. [ He only has Patroclus. Who gives a fuck about Hector? ]

[horsepowered]

It isn't as if our own art was particularly dedicated to a realistic view of events.

[Chiron takes the piece carefully, unrolling it and giving the matter a long consideration.]

He got the eyes right, I will say that.

[chariotry]

[ Was that a joke, Chiron???

Achilles lips quirk in the briefest of smiles, but he steels his expression and crosses his arms disapprovingly. ]

I remember his back well... [ Hey, Achilles, remember that long talk about not crossing certain boundaries? ] It's not his, but I wanted to keep this still.

[horsepowered]

[Just a comment about pottery.]

May I ask how you convinced the artist to give you this piece?

[chariotry]

[ Just... this expression. ]

[horsepowered]

[Chiron sighs.]

Achilles.

[chariotry]

[ HE SIGHS IN RETURN! See? He can sigh, too. Two can play at this game. ]

His body...

Isn't something I'm willing to share with anyone else, even in death. [ AKA you're lucky I didn't steal the other painting too. ]

[horsepowered]

[It's a loosing battle, Chiron thinks. But then again, what is this man without that intense devotion that brought down the ruin of many? So Chiron says nothing at all.]

Perhaps he'll turn his attention to other subjects then.

[chariotry]

[ Ugh... He had been expecting a lecture, or something along the lines of "you should be ashamed to haven given into your selfish desires yet again" -- but he's given reassurance instead.

His teacher never fails to surprise him.

He places his hand over the snout of the horse, dragging rough fingertips up and over through her mane, scratching at her cute, twitching ears. ]

He can draw his own loved ones. [ Smiling at Chiron. ] I am grateful in a way.

This proves that my legacy lives on. And that Patroclus has been immortalized, as well.

[horsepowered]

But you knew both of those things already, Achilles.

[They're standing and talking to each other, after all.

Chiron frowns, the scene before him very cute even though he remains concerned.]

What did you really gain?

[chariotry]

[ Okay, if only you knew some punk asian kid hurt his feelings because he had no idea who he was when he revealed himself and his true name.

This helps his ego. ]

What did I really gain?

... [ He looks away, if only because he's not even quite sure. ] It's different, seeing it for yourself.

[ Being immortal, yet a thing of the past. A dead man, though a hero. ]

[horsepowered]

You gained perspective.

[It's an observation. Chiron doesn't move from where he's standing, but he's looking at his former student with an unreadable face.]

That is something of great value.